Berkeley Clarions

The Berkeley Clarions were a minor league baseball team from Berkeley, California, that competed in the Class D Central California League during the 1910 and 1911 seasons, though they only played partial seasons each year. Their home games were held at the Dwight Way Grounds. Berkeley first hosted minor league baseball in 1910, when a team joined the eight-team Central California League mid-season. That year, the league operated with a full schedule, but only weekend games counted in the standings.

The 1910 Berkeley team had a chaotic path: it started as the Santa Rosa Prune Pickers, moved to become the Alameda Bracketts on May 5, then shifted to the Oakland Basches on July 10, and finally relocated to Berkeley on July 31. Managed by William Bailey and T. Walton, the team finished in fourth place with a 14–15 record, 4.5 games behind the first-place Richmond Merchants. In the playoffs, the Alameda Alerts beat Richmond two games to none. In 1911, the Clarions stayed put, but the league was unstable: two other teams moved, and both Berkeley and the Oakland Emery Arms folded during the season.

The league itself disbanded on July 9, 1911. Berkeley folded on June 23, 1911, after Oakland had folded on June 18. The Clarions ended the season in fifth place with a 5–6 record under manager Jim Kane, finishing 3.5 games behind the San Leandro Cherry Pickers. Berkeley next hosted minor league baseball in 1915 as part of the Class D California State League.

The ballpark

The Clarions nickname was later revived by a team in the Bay Area Vintage Base Ball League. The Dwight Way Grounds, located at Derby Street, Carleton Street, and Grove Street, is still used as a ballpark today, renamed Tim Moellering Field in 2012, and is home to Berkeley High School and Berkeley Tech High School athletic teams.